Next Man City Manager Contenders All Have One Thing in Common

Manchester City are reportedly set to draw up a list of at least three candidates as they plan for a future beyond Pep Guardiola.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has been City’s manager since July 2016 and has won 18 trophies in Manchester, including six Premier League titles.

However, his side are currently six points behind Arsenal with 14 games to go this season, leading many to believe that the Premier League title race is already over.

Man City’s second-half issues have only fuelled that perception, raising questions about mentality, intensity and whether the cycle that has defined Guardiola’s era may be nearing its natural conclusion.

Guardiola’s status as a club legend is secure, but there is a growing suspicion that the 2025/26 campaign could be his final season at the Etihad Stadium.

Next Manchester City manager likely to be one of Pep Guardiola’s former students

Reports this week have claimed that three leading contenders to replace Guardiola are Enzo Maresca, Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas.

Those three names might appear to represent very different profiles at first glance. However, they all share one defining trait: each has worked closely with Guardiola during his career.

Enzo Maresca

Maresca’s managerial links to Guardiola are perhaps the most direct. The Italian worked as City’s Elite Development Squad coach between 2020 and 2021 before returning as one of Guardiola’s first-team assistants from 2022 to 2023.

Guardiola has openly praised Maresca’s influence, previously describing himself as “a lucky man” to have worked with the Italian. Speaking ahead of City’s 3-1 win over Chelsea in January last year, Guardiola also said he could clearly recognise their shared footballing ideas when watching Maresca’s team.

“I recognised his Chelsea team from day one,” Guardiola said. “Many things I started to see that we spoke about many, many times in the last years together. Really good.”

Guardiola added that Maresca’s methods and understanding of the game reflected the work they had done together at City, underlining why the Italian is viewed as a natural ideological fit should City prioritise continuity after Guardiola’s departure.

That tactical familiarity could make Maresca the most obvious candidate if City are prioritising a seamless transition — minimal disruption to playing style, squad structure and day-to-day methodology.

Maresca is currently a free agent after leaving Chelsea on New Year’s Day. Maresca’s record at Chelsea included a 59.78 win percentage and two major trophies.

Xabi Alonso

Alonso’s connection with Guardiola dates back to their time together at Bayern Munich.

Midfielder Alonso played under Guardiola in Germany from 2014 to 2016, during which he began shaping his understanding of coaching at the highest level.

Guardiola once said that helping players like Alonso become coaches was an “obligation”, acknowledging the influence Johan Cruyff had on his own development and the responsibility to pass that knowledge on.

Alonso has since built a reputation as one of Europe’s most cerebral young coaches, regularly referencing the lessons he absorbed under Guardiola in terms of game control, anticipation and communication.

Like Maresca, Alonso is currently a free agent.

Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to the Bundesliga title without losing a single game in their 2023/24 campaign, left Real Madrid last month.

Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas’ relationship with Guardiola is more complex.

Guardiola managed Fabregas at Barcelona after re-signing him from Arsenal in 2011.

While Guardiola was instrumental in shaping Fabregas’ understanding of the game, their personal relationship later cooled following Guardiola’s departure from the club.

“No, no, with Pep nothing at all,” Fabregas said in a 2020 interview when asked if they still had a relationship. “I don’t know if the disappointment with Pep is mutual. Things happened, but I prefer not to talk about it.”

Despite that distance, Fabregas has never downplayed Guardiola’s influence on his football education.

“Pep was my idol since I was a child,” Fabregas added. “It is from him that I have learned the most, perhaps, since I was four until now.”

Now emerging as a highly rated young manager in his own right, Fabregas represents a different interpretation of Guardiola’s influence. Unlike Maresca or Alonso, he is not viewed as a direct tactical extension of Guardiola’s methods.

Instead, his appeal lies in a broader philosophical inheritance — shaped by Guardiola but also refined through experiences under other elite coaches, most notably Jose Mourinho.

Fabregas has previously explained that while Guardiola influenced him tactically, Mourinho had a profound impact on him at a critical point in his career.

“Mourinho inspired me the most when I left Barca,” Fabregas said. “He helped me a lot at a difficult time in my career and perhaps I played one of my best seasons with him.”

That blend of Guardiola’s positional control and Mourinho’s emphasis on pragmatism, authority and game management is what sets Fabregas apart from the other candidates — and may explain why City see him as a potential bridge between continuity and evolution.

However, unlike Alonso and Maresca, Fabregas has yet to win any silverware as a manager.

His entire managerial career to date has been spent in charge of Serie A minnows Como, so a move to the Etihad Stadium would represent a huge step up.